In the 19th century, artisanal breweries were increasingly being replaced by larger industrial breweries, and today there are seven famous large breweries in Munich: Augustiner, Hofbräu, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Löwenbräu, Spaten, and Franziskaner.

Together, these seven breweries produce around 6 million hectoliters of beer per year. Even today, these breweries use no additives, as dictated by the Munich Beer Purity Law of 1487. This not only has to do with tradition, but with long-established high ethical values.

Munich beer may only be produced by the breweries of Munich. The brewing oath stipulates that Munich beer is brewed according to an ancient recipe, with pure, natural ingredients like pure water from their own wells, and the best malt and hops. The most popular beer festival in the world, Oktoberfest, celebrates these very beers, and it draws around 7 million international visitors every year.